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The Tortoise and the Hare

While Donald Trump hit the presidential ground running, Ben Carson has adopted the slow and steady wins the race style. Many people had not heard his name until he officially announced his candidacy, and many people did not see his real stage power until the first debate. In fact, he was largely ignored throughout the first Fox News debate, but shook it off and proved why thousands across America believe he should be the next president.

Part of Trump’s following is due to the fact that he is not a politician. This political environment is not “politics as usual,” where many politicians believed that they needed prior experience to get the coveted Oval Office seat. In this case, however, many Americans believe that Washington politicians are corrupt, and 67 % of Republicans think the nation’s Capital needs a person who has no political experience. People believe that those without a political resume are running for different reasons than other career politicians, and therefore are less likely to be manipulated by the Washington machine. For this reason, Trump, Fiorina, and Carson have more of a chance now than they did in past races, as there is a cry for fresh blood in the GOP primary.

So here entered Trump, with his divisive one liners that got the media’s attention and spiked rates for networks. His flashiness, however, is starting to wear off, and as time goes on, Carson is slowly catching up. For the first time, Carson is a point behind in a national poll from Donald Trump. The difference to Carson’s approach, importantly, is that it is a slow and steady campaign tactic based off of material with substance, rather than the flashy fast approach. Carson shares many of the same ideas as the supporters for Trump, but with more tact and less crass. Carson is also a minority, and has used his platform to call for the need of equality. Instead of pulling the race card as a campaign tactic, he has called all to see a “brain as a brain,” and has left the identity politics out of it. He has a strong personal success story, and even stronger career as a surgeon, and is now building a strong career as a candidate.

While Carson was thought by many to be a viable and profitable person to be Vice President, as the race continues, he has proved himself to be a candidate to pick his own VP. The race is still in its early phase, and from the recent polls, it seems like there may be a lot more surprises than what people currently think. As of right now, Carson and Fiorina are on the rise, and have a real chance of dethroning Trump.